Is "gaydar" just pheromones?

I've been curious about whether the gay man's intitution, popularly known as "gaydar," is simply a pheromone phenomenon or not. The reason why I ask is that when I'm walking through a store, some times I may eye contact with a guy and 80% of the time it turns out he'd be gay. This is just from looking at a guy too.

I just find it so weird that gays have the 6th sense of detecting other gays. What do you guys think?

Science has no proof that humans can sense pheromones at all. If they could, I would imagine all relationships, straight or gay, would be easier. From every thing I have read we can sense them at all. However, I am still young and have not read nearly as many books as people twice my age (40).

I imagine if you are staring into another mans eyes and he is staring into yours, that he must have some attraction. I don't know many people who stare into a stranger's eyes.

I am surprised there is even eye contact in the states now. It is so uptight and unfriendly. Last time I tried to talk to a stranger in the market they ran like I was asking to rape them...WTF...Everyone know you never ask before you rape someone.

Gaydar has nothing to do with pheromones, and part of that's because gay men emit the same pheromones as straight men. "Gaydar" is simply the ability to pick up on certain "hints" and behaviors to determine whether or not a guy is gay, like seeing a guy eyeball other guys or have a limp wrist(!) with a lisp.

I think it may be partly phermones, our demeanor around men we're attracted to, and some part is the way we dress[;which isn't always the case]. I've been told, "you think everyone is gay", by people with no idea what gaydar is that I lost it. That, and being in a 3 year relationship I think I let it wither a bit. Now, I only rely on circumstances to tell me if a guy is gay or not: flirting, eye contact, and all that...

I actually think that "gaydar" has more to do with the signals gay men put out than being able to determine who is gay by some chemical process. I mean obviously some gay men are just way out there, but even the most masculine man puts out signals. It's easier for men to do what other men find attractive, because they have first hand experience. Sometimes gay men just put out random signals out there to increase their visibility, like wearing certain brands of clothing, or whatever.

LOL. The fabled "gaydar" is a hit or miss thing. It's not guareented all the time. Sure, there are some signs that might suggest that a guy is gay but they aren't definate until the guy either openly admits it, your sources are dead-on reliable, or you find yourself in bed with him, whichever comes first I guess.

For gay men I would honestly say most "gaydar" is based off of mainly these key things: physical attraction, similarity in behavior, with a pinch of "hope" and a dash of "want" (emphasis on the "want").

Basically a gut feeling or intuition that someone has when coming in contact with someone else. No one's "gaydar" is 100% unless they take out all distracting/decieving factors and strategically place themselves in a dominant area filled with so many gays they can't shake a stick without hitting one (these places do exsist).

Women also aren't as great at spotting gay men either (contrary to popular belief). They can be wrong just like anyone else. I've personally seen women nearly ball their eyes out and go into shock when they finally figured out a guy they wanted so bad or thought was a straight arrow was actually gay. LOL. It was so cruel it was hilarious. Also I've seen men soooooo gay (the traditional stereotyped version--i.e. feminine) that they were really straight but given the behavior you would definately think otherwise.

I wouldn't rule out the pheromone scenerio but wouldn't fully support it either. I'd call it more like Russian Roulette and basically some people just gamble better then others.

I can't pick 100% of gay guys with gaydar, but I'll bet that when I do pick one, I'm 90% accurate. I am convinced that patterns of eye blinking are the most obvious way to tell. I know that studies on eye blink rates have not shown correlations, but I nevertheless feel that in my personal experience, when I observe a certain pattern, 90% of the time it's accurate. I would describe it as a slowness in the closing and opening of the eyes, not increased or decreased blinking.

Vocal inflection and mannerisms are also very accurate. Studies I remember seeing show that most people can identify voices as "gay." Although the general identification is not accurate, it does show that certain inflections are considered "gay," and the presence of these inflections in certain situations, combined with mannerisms, makes it easy to tell. When a guy in a society like NC does not attempt to hide obviously gay inflections, and/or does not attempt to hide mannerisms that are effeminate or indicate physical attraction towards other men, it's a pretty good sign. In environments where such behavior is more common and less likely to be condemned (such as in Greece), I don't think this applies.

The most foolproof way is to observe a guy talking to another guy friend. His posture, eye movement, inflection, etc, will reveal whether or not he sees the other guy as a sexual possibility, whether or not he is attracted to the person. Even if he's a very masculine jock type, the way he looks at and orients himself towards guy friends subtly reveals his orientation.

I agree with you guys about the eyes and the body language. There's a lot more logic to it than people suspect. If you just notice who a guy gives a lot of attention to. There's one guy at my gym who is a tough-ass country boy who projects the casual cool of any straight man. He was part of the NFL combine and he's careful not to look at any guy too long. But when my ex (a bodybuilder) came around this guy's eyes were all over his chest. Then I noticed his eyes gravitating towards every guy's chest. Finally, he got married...to a woman from Toronto...who is rarely in the country and who needs her green card. There's no mystery in that bit of math.

Now that you guys mention it, I do see the eyes and body posture/mannerisms play a major role when I try to identify if someone is gay. There's definitely something about the look a guy gives and the body language that really indicates they are gay.

However, let me make one distinction. Between gaydar and GSP. GSP is when you just look at someone and say: "Ding!". Gaydar is more "scientific", when you spend time observing someone. Who does he look at? How does he dress? What book is he reading?

Of course, like with most cases of self-selection and absent verification, some people (myself included) think we're often right. Even when we know we've inserted personal bias (he's soooo hot, he's gotta be gay!).

I think the eyes have a lot to do with it too, as well as interactions with others. Voice and mannerisms can sometimes give you a clue, but they definitely wouldn't be the best indicators...take me for example: I do not stick out in looks as being gay unless I'm wearing a shirt with a rainbow on it. my voice is comparable to that of James Earl Jones. watching me check people out isn't even a very good indicator because I check out men and women.

however, if I'm out with my boyfriend people can tell. not because we display overt signs of public affection: no holding hands or public kissing or anything of the sort, but because of the way we look at each other.

It may be pheromones but I tend to think it's body language myself. You know, the look, the posture, the behavior, that sort of thing.

It is a plausible hypothesis though. In a gay/lesbian yahoo message board forum people ask a lot of questions and the usual among teenagers is, "am I gay". I tell them that if they like the odor of a man's hot sweaty balls, then they're probably gay. I have no evidence to back that up but it seems plausible. So, if you hear of a phenomenon where teenage boys are sniffing one another's balls, it originated with me.